Apple blocking requests to make its full federal diversity report public

Apple has refused to make all of the data from their federal diversity filing public. While Apple did publish some diversity data earlier this year, they have blocked requests to have the data released to the public. The EEO-1 report that is being requested is a federally mandated detailed breakdown of workforce composition. Apple was joined by other companies in this refusal, according to USA Today:

Apple, Google, Microsoft and other companies blocked the release of the data from the U.S. Department of Labor to news organizations such as the San Jose Mercury News that had filed public records requests.

Google eventually released their EEO-1 data, while Microsoft has announced that they will release their data by the end of the month. Apple has made no such announcement one way or another, so far only blocking requests. Many other companies, including Facebook, eBay, and Yahoo have released their full diversity breakdowns to the public.

Should Apple decide not to release the data, it could be seen as a step backwards in a year that saw the company become more transparent about diversity. CEO Tim Cook had this to say earlier in the year about Apple's initial diversity report:

Let me say up front: As CEO, I'm not satisfied with the numbers on this page. They're not new to us, and we've been working hard for quite some time to improve them. We are making progress, and we're committed to being as innovative in advancing diversity as we are in developing our products. Inclusion and diversity have been a focus for me throughout my time at Apple, and they're among my top priorities as CEO.

Apple's public diversity report this year showed that 55 percent of employees were white, while 70 percent of employees were male.